If you feel like you’re hearing more about Greek gods lately than you did in your 9th-grade Western Civ class, you aren’t imagining it. Percy Jackson—the demigod son of Poseidon with ADHD and dyslexia—is back in the driver's seat of tween culture.

For a long time, we had the original five books and those... let's be honest, pretty terrible movies from the 2010s that the author himself famously dislikes. But we’ve entered a new era. The Disney+ series has been a massive hit, and Rick Riordan has returned to writing Percy’s perspective after a decade-long hiatus.

This matters because Percy Jackson is the ultimate "gateway" drug to literacy. About 60% of middle-school parents in the Screenwise community report that their kids started with the show and then actually wanted to read the books. In a world of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, a property that makes a 400-page book feel like a reward is a parenting win.

Season 1 covered the first book, and Season 2 (filming now for a 2025 release) will tackle The Sea of Monsters.

The Vibe: It’s much more faithful to the books than the movies were. The kids actually look like kids (Walker Scobell is 15, but was 13 when filming started). It handles the "scary" elements of Greek mythology—monsters, betrayal, the literal Underworld—with a tone that is intense but rarely traumatizing for the 8+ crowd.

Parental No-BS Review: Some of the CGI in the first season was a little "TV budget," and the pacing can be slow for kids used to MrBeast edits. However, the themes of identity, neurodiversity (viewing ADHD as a survival trait), and questioning authority are handled brilliantly. It is lightyears better than the "brain rot" content usually recommended to this age group.

Ask our chatbot for a comparison of the Percy Jackson show vs. the books

For years, fans begged Riordan to go back to Percy’s point of view. He finally did with a new trilogy designed to bridge the gap between the middle-grade series and the older young adult world.

Percy is trying to get into college (New Rome University), but since he’s a demigod, he doesn't just need a good GPA—he needs recommendation letters from three different gods. This means more quests. It’s funny, nostalgic, and slightly more "mature" in its humor without being inappropriate.

The newest release (late 2024) involves Percy pet-sitting for Hecate, the goddess of magic. It’s pure chaos. If your kid finished the original series and felt "done," these are the perfect hook to get them back into a reading habit.

Once a kid finishes Percy, they usually hit a "book hangover." They want that same mix of magic, humor, and "regular kid" problems. Here is the intelligent way to navigate the next steps:

Ages 8-12. Think Percy Jackson meets Men in Black. Amari is a girl looking for her missing brother who discovers a secret world of supernatural law enforcement. It’s fast-paced and deals with social issues in a way that feels organic, not preachy.

Ages 7-12. If your kid prefers animals to humans, this is the one. It’s a massive series about dragon tribes at war. Warning: it can be surprisingly violent (dragon-on-dragon combat), but the lore is deep and keeps kids reading for months.

Also by Rick Riordan, but focused on Egyptian mythology. It’s often overlooked but many kids find the "brother-sister" dynamic more relatable than Percy’s solo journey.

Part of the "Rick Riordan Presents" imprint. It follows Hindu mythology and is incredibly funny. It’s the gold standard for diverse fantasy that doesn't feel like "homework."

Check out our full guide on fantasy book series for tweens

Percy Jackson doesn’t just live in books; he’s all over the digital world. Here is how to manage the "screen" side of this obsession.

There are dozens of "Camp Half-Blood" roleplay servers on Roblox.

Once kids hit 11 or 12, they often want to join Percy Jackson "fandom" servers on Discord. This is where we suggest caution. Discord is an adult-focused platform. While there are moderated servers, the "side-DM" culture can be a lot for a tween to navigate. If they want to talk Percy Jackson, encourage them to do it on platforms like Pinna or through school-sanctioned book clubs.

Is it too scary? The books and show deal with themes of parental abandonment (the gods are notoriously bad parents) and mortality. In the books, characters do die. However, Riordan uses humor as a shield. If your kid can handle Harry Potter, they can handle Percy Jackson.

The "Greek God" Problem Greek myths are... messy. The original myths involve a lot of "problematic" behavior from Zeus and company. Riordan does a great job of modernizing this (e.g., the gods are just "unreliable" rather than R-rated), but it’s a great jumping-off point for conversations about what makes a "hero."

Rick Riordan has been a pioneer in including LGBTQ+ characters and diverse backgrounds in middle-grade fiction. In the later series like Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, he introduces gender-fluid and Muslim characters.

If your family is more conservative, you may want to pre-read the later series (specifically Magnus Chase or Trials of Apollo). The original Percy Jackson series is very "safe" by most standards, but the universe expands to be very inclusive as it goes on.

Learn more about the themes in Rick Riordan's later books

Percy Jackson is one of the few properties that actually earns its hype. It’s a bridge between the physical book and the digital screen that doesn't feel forced.

Next Steps:

Parenting in the digital age is about finding the "wins" where tech and traditional learning overlap. Percy Jackson is a massive, lightning-bolt-shaped win.

Ask our chatbot for a personalized reading list based on your kid's interests